Our guest speaker on Monday was John Mendez from Coalition for the Homeless. He spoke about the circumstances that surround homelessness and chronic homelessness. His definition of chronic homelessness included a cycle showing unemployment, jail, substance abuse such as drugs and alcohol, mental health, living on the streets, high use of emergency medicine (ER), and using emergency shelters. He offered statistics and discussion about chronic homelessness. He stated that only 10 to 15% of the homeless are in a situation of chronic homelessness. More than anything, we discovered, the homeless want homes. Which is a simple idea we seem to overlook quite often in favor of programs that help homeless individuals and families pay for health care, find employment and enroll in substance abuse programs. Did you agree or disagree with what John had to say? What did you find interesting about the conversation? What did you like/dislike about it? How does chronic homelessness relate to The Glass Castle? Do you think Jeanette’s father would have benefitted more from the programs that are now targeted towards helping get and keep people off the streets? When it comes down to it- after our conversation- what role did homelessness actually play in the Glass Castle. In other words- would the Walls family be considered truly homeless by the concepts we discussed Monday in class?
and
As a second part to this discussion- what do you think is the most effective way at combatting the issue of homelessness in Huntington and nationwide?
Here are some resources to help you out:
http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/
I would encourage you to check out the basic facts about the homeless at this site to help out-
and information about the Cabell Huntington Coalition for the Homeless
16 comments
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October 11, 2007 at 6:17 pm
pletka
I do agreed with what the speaker had to say. I think people who are homeless have or have had problems with drugs and not being able to get a job. I did think it was interesing that only 10 to 15% of people are chronic homeless i thought it would be more. I think chronic homeless some what relates to the Glass Castle and how Jeanette’s father had an alcohol problems but they almost always had a roof over their heads even though it was a dump. I dont think Jeanette’s father would have taken the help from people or homeless organizations even if he had it because he had to much pride. But i dont really consider the Walls family of ever being homeless. I think by helping homeless people get off the streets is by first helping them get a job and getting their lives on track so they can be able to support themselves and wont have to use other peoples money.
October 15, 2007 at 2:49 pm
markroeracing
I found John’s presentation quite interesting. I didnt know how many people really are homeless and how the things we do to help them out only makes it worse. I found it interesting that if we just give them a place to live for free that it costs us a lot less money than all of the other things we try to do to help them out. It sounds crazy to just give someone a place to live for free from the money out of our pocket but if it costs less then I am all for it. It would help solve a lot of the problems since what homeless people want the most is a home. Its such a simple solution but its taken a long time to figure out what works the best and now that its figured out I think the homeless population will start to decline.
I think the Walls arent homeless in the terms that we talked about. At the beginning of the book they have a place to live and they just move around a lot. Towrads the end however I would consider the Walls’ parents homeless and its by their own choice. No one is forcing them to be homeless asthey are invited by all of their children to move in with them. Its a choice they made because they were proud. I couldnt imagine being homeless. Life would seem very hopeless at that point. I am very thankful and blessed to have been raised in a nice home where ive always been given everything that Ive needed. Ive never gone hungry or without clothes and I try my best not to take any of that for granted. The good Lord has blessed me well.
October 16, 2007 at 5:15 pm
muamy
I think John’s discussion on homelessness was really eye-opening. He introduced a lot of new facts to me , that i had not previously known. The most interesting was the percentage fact on how many people really are chronically homeless; it was a lot less than i expected. It really aggrivated me to find out that people are getting apartments rent-free because ” that is the only way to combat homelessness”. I know it’s a good solution in terms of how much we have to pay tax wise, but it just makes me mad that so many people are struggling with a low-income job, just to make ends meet. These people may be homeless, but i hate to think that they are getting a free ride. I understand that it solves the problem of the homeless by giving them a place to live in, but I also think that helping them find employment and giving them drug abuse help, would be useful too. I wouldn’t consider the Walls Family to be chronically homeless because throughout most of the story they did have a home to call their own. It might not have been the most stable place to live in, but they did have a house. Towards the end of the book, the parents did become homeless, but i believe that they could’ve easily gotten themselves out of the situation. Mrs. Walls had a teaching degree, and Mr. Walls knew how to work in the labor workforce. They could’ve gotten themselves out of the homelessness rut, but they chose not to. I am just very lucky to have what i have, and i won’t ever be ungrateful.
October 17, 2007 at 11:21 am
galbraith3
I thought that the discussion was ok. Everything that he said was different in a way from how the Walls family lived. The parents did have a choice. They could have been rich and had a nice home that was filled with food, but instead they chose to live poorly they way the mother and father wanted to. I felt that wasnt fair to the kids at all. However, some of the things that John covered seemed to have made sense in the book as well. Programs were out there for Jeanette’s father to get some help but they werent as popular then as they are now. I think that it could have helped him with more than one of his problems. They werent completely homeless because they always seemed to have run into an old building. they always had shelter over their heads even if it wasnt the greates but it still helped better than sleeping on the ground. Finding the homeless homes.
October 17, 2007 at 12:36 pm
rollinsjd8
I did agree, for the most part, about what John had to say throughout his presentation. I was surprised though at the statistics he gave us and by the interesting fact that we are actually is saving money by providing the chronic homeless with homes rather than supportive techniques. With this, I did like the point made that by doing so we are no longer being “ripped off” monetarily by supporting those who, in some cases, do not try to better themselves. The thing I don’t like is the idea that with a certain amount of these homeless individuals….like I said, they often don’t put an effort to make themselves successful, so why should they be given free housing or care? That is the problem I have with the issue…though in the long run, I suppose that is the best way to go. The idea of chronic homeless relates to the Glass Castle in a way, as Jeanette and her family were not well off with a nice place to live, however I do not consider them to be in that category because they always found shelter and made do with what they had. I believe that Jeanette’s father would have benefitted from those supportive programs if he had the desire to better himself through the help of others, but I do not feel that was the case. He was full of pride and independence, and through my experience with some people with these characteristics….it is nearly impossible to get them the help they need because of their insecurities. I do not consider the Walls family to actually be “homeless” because like I said, they were never really without a house…….but in my opinion, they were often without a “home” because I believe that a home is a place that you need to be able to rely on to keep you safe and secure and it didn’t seem that they often had that pleasure.
I think the most effective way of combatting this problem in Huntington and elsewhere is to like John said…..not focus solely on the issues of the homeless getting jobs and so forth, but rather on the fact that they need homes.
October 17, 2007 at 6:01 pm
musfinest11
I thought that John’s discussion was good. I actually didnt know about some of the things he haad told us about. I had always thought that homeless people were just a bunch of alcoholics and drug addicts. I had also seen the movie “On the River’s Edge” and it was pretty good also. John’s speech gave more statistics and facts about homelessness. In the Glass Castle, I dont think they had to be homeless. They chose to be. The mother had land that she could have sold and chose not to. The father was an alcoholic and spent most of their money on alcohol. I find the whole homeless thing pretty said. If I could do more I would. I give out money when I have the extra cash. And im thinking of helping out at a shelter around the holidays.
October 17, 2007 at 10:30 pm
mere3
I would haft to agree. I in the past I have worked with homeless people through a church organization, and talking to some of them, have found that drug abuse, and loosing jobs is the number one reason they are homeless. I did talk to one man who told me he had plenty of money, but didnt want to live inside a house because he was closterphobic. haha. He was pretty cool I guess. In the glass Castle, I believe that they did try to have a home, but wernt able to manage it correctly. The mom was capable of getting a job, and so was the dad, so I completely blame it on the parents. The mom had land and such that she probably could have gotten alot of money off of. They were handed down the house the grandma lived in, so I dont get why they wouldnt have takin better care of what they were able to get to.
October 17, 2007 at 11:25 pm
mandimoses
I will have to say that after hearing John’s point of view, I looked at homelessness in a different perspective as well. I sometimes still believe they can still at least go to a McDonalds and get a job, but then some of them really cant. I guess if I see there is someone on the street who needs money, i’ll be glad to give them food, but not go out and give them money for them to go drink or buy drugs with. I believe in the glass castle, they kinda tried not to be homeless, but sometimes it didnt work out to the way they would have liked.
October 18, 2007 at 12:26 am
fralic
John’s point of view of homelessness was very interesting. I have never heard anyone say that the “cure” for homelessness is a home, but that seems like an obvious answer. I do agree with solution now that I have heard it and I enjoyed listening to him speak. Chronic homelessness was in the Glass Castle but not by John’s standards, which seemed to be you were only chronically homeless if you were living out on the street. I don’t know how Jeanette’s father would react with receiving a new home. A part of me thinks that he would of have too much pride to receive government help.
October 20, 2007 at 3:38 pm
lacko1
I feel that john was very informative about the homeless in huntington. i think that being homless is hard to understand but after hearing john talk i got a better idea about life withouth a home and i felt bad for the homeless i feel that the walls family was homless and that the only way to fix homlessness in huntington is to keep organizing homeless shelters for teh homeless people to live in
October 22, 2007 at 12:48 am
jesus44
homelessness is a big problem not only for the homeless but the others too. johns speech was making good points and valid points. i dont not beleive there is a “cure” for homelessness but there is a way to try and motivate them to make somthing such as rehab and other things. he is a wonderful man for trying to do everything he does . the shelters will help with most of the problem.
October 22, 2007 at 12:54 pm
dbridge1123
I agree with John he said that we need to stop giving are tax dollars for dumb stuff. We need to use our tax dollars and put the homeless in homes. When he says that less than 10% of homerless had drugs and alcohol problems I was shocked. Because coming from D.C. you see a lot of homeless with alcohol and drug problems. I don’t think Jeanette’s family was homeless when they were kids. But when her mom and dad lived in New York they were homeless.
October 22, 2007 at 1:20 pm
matney11
I would have to agree with what the speaker had to say. I found it interesting that there was only a few people that were chronically homeless. He also point out the best way to cut down on homelessness is not all the programs out there to feed them for a day or whatever, but to give them a home! It seems so easy but is often overlooked!!! Even thought many homeless people have issues with drugs and alcohol like Jeanette’s dad, there is help out there… if there would have been help for her dad and he would have accepted it her life would have been very diffrent…..
October 23, 2007 at 5:27 pm
mutc27
I think the Walls family would not technically be considered homeless at the begining, however her parents were by the end of the book. I thought that the family was most definately living in poverty and that they needed to have more shelter, food and other things. I think the most effective way to deal with the homeless is simply to give them a place to live. It is really the only thing that will be a sure way to make sure that the homeless are no longer homeless, and it stops them from losing jobs or spending money on frivilous things.
October 24, 2007 at 1:14 pm
metallica12606
I am glad people like john are out there too help. He has some really good ways to combat homelessness. I think its great homeless peopleare getting keys. I dont care if they didnt work for it b/c living on the streets is hard. THe desreve a place to live.I dont think Jeanette’s father would have got any help. He was too full of pride. He would have rather lived as he did than get help from people who would interfere.
October 29, 2007 at 10:31 am
rachelrogal
I think its really important to know about homelessness and the ways we should, and maybe shouldnt help people out. Its good to know there are people out there like john who are helping to inform all of us on these things. I think being homeless has a lot do do with a persons uprbringing, in my own opinion, but that doesnt go for everyone. When i see a homeless person, i question myself, if i did give them money..would would they do with it? buy something like bread..or alcohol?? So i mean, either way you arent really going to win, besides maybe doing a good dead for the day. We cant relate all homeless people to drugs and alcohol, becuse i know that isnt the case, i dont think there is actually a ‘cure’ for homelessness, but hopefully in the future, things will get worked out, better so than they are now. And with the glass castle, i wouldnt say that were homeless homeless. They moved around all the time, sometimes not exactly knowing where they were going, but if you want to be like jeanette, and focus on the good, they did have a car most of the time, something that MOST homeless people dont have, and they didnt live under a bridge, they may not have had a working bathroom at some points, but they had a roof over theyre head. OKAY, i think thats all (: